Frontcover (Landscape with Figure and Phoenix) from Xylographs (Xylographies) by Vasily Kandinsky is a crucial print created in 1907 and later published in 1909. This specific work is one of eight heliogravures included within a foundational portfolio that showcased the artist’s early graphic experimentation, encompassing the collection’s title page, front cover, and back cover. The technical process involved using heliogravure, a photomechanical method, to reproduce Kandinsky’s original woodcuts, allowing for wider dissemination of his graphic ideas.
Created during a transitional and highly productive period, this piece reflects Kandinsky’s immersion in Symbolism and the elegant, stylized forms of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) that were prevalent across Europe. Though the artist was Russian, the context of the publication is classified as French, dating this key print to 1907, with formal publication following in 1909. The composition remains figurative, focusing on a mystical or spiritual landscape featuring a solitary figure and the prominent phoenix. These subjects provide a framework for the rhythmic lines and simplified planes that define the work, demonstrating the simplified aesthetic inherent in the woodcut technique it reproduces.
This heliogravure stands as a significant example of Kandinsky’s pre-abstraction phase, showcasing his developing interest in the expressive potential of line and color, even in monochrome prints. The boldness and flattening of form seen here are hallmarks of his push toward non-objective art, which he would fully embrace shortly thereafter. This important portfolio, Xylographs, is essential for charting the lineage of abstract painting in the 20th century. This print is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, ensuring its availability for scholarly reference. As these seminal early prints by Kandinsky age, related images and material frequently enter the public domain, broadening access to his formative graphic work.
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